Conversations with Today's Authors

Category Archives: Merlin

In Book #3 of her popular Abracadabra series, author Sharon Pape delivers a cozy mystery with a twist of the paranormal and a splash of humor. Her protagonist, Kailyn Wilde, is a sorcerer of ancient lineage, has a knack for solving murder cases with help from her journalist boyfriend, psychic aunt, and an aged Merlin. Let this magical read begin!

Interviewer: Christina Hamlett

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Q: Many successful writers had their passion for the written word ignited by a love of reading since childhood. Was that the case for you?

A: Yes, I’ve always loved reading, but because my passion for writing began as soon as I was taught to string words together to form a sentence, I think it also had roots in my DNA or perhaps a previous lifetime. Can you tell I like the paranormal and questions for which there are no definite answers?

Q: What are some of the books we might have found on the nightstand of your adolescent self? And as a teenager? And an adult?

A: When I was an adolescent, the books on my nightstand would have included The Diary of Anne Frank, The Dana Girls mystery series by Carolyn Keene as well as Enid Blyton’s mysteries, Gone with the Wind, Mrs. Mike, Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, and Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington.

In my teens, you might have found Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier), Exodus (Uris), Hawaii (Michener), Advise and Consent (Drury), The Winter of Our Discontent (Steinbeck), For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemingway) and nonfiction works about the universe.

Since I’ve been an adult, the books would include: The Stand and others by Stephen King, Watchers and others by Dean Koontz, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman, When God was a Woman, Mary Stewart’s trilogy about Merlin, Life After Life, Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss, MD, The Right Stuff (Wolfe), A Brief History of Time (Hawking), The Martian Chronicles, The Rent Collector, The Orphan Train, The Last Day (Klierer), The Light Between Oceans (Stedman), Me Before You (Moyer) lots of mysteries, and science fiction.

Q: Does one book in particular stand out as your all-time favorite?

A: Gone With the Wind. I’m sure the book’s impact on me had a lot to do with the young age at which I read it. I was drawn in by the sweeping romance of Scarlet and Rhett and by the dramatic period during which it took place. It didn’t hurt that the copy I read had photos of Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh from the movie. I’d still take Gable over any number of today’s actors.

Q: If you could step into the shoes of any fictitious character for 24 hours, who would it be, where would you go and what would you do?

A: I would like to be Captain James T. Kirk on the starship Enterprise during the episode “The Trouble With Tribbles.” It would be like playing with hundreds of puppies!

Q: Who are some of the authors you believe had an influence on your own style of storytelling?

A: I think every book I’ve read has influenced my writing style, to one degree or another. You can’t beat King and Koontz for making you feel like you’re right there in the scene or M.L. Stedman for the sheer beauty of her writing. Backing up a minute, when my kids were little, I was reading The Stand by King just before I had to leave the house to pick up my daughter from nursery school. As I pulled out of the garage, there was a weird moment when I expected to see dead people everywhere.

Q: What’s the first thing you ever had published?

A: My first book sold to PocketBooks. It was entitled For Everything a Season, but since there was no paranormal genre at the time, the publisher changed the title to Ghost Fire and marketed it as horror. Redbook condensed it for their Halloween issue. It was the first paperback original they had ever condensed. When the rights reverted to me, I rewrote portions of the book and re-released it on Amazon with my original title.

Q: What was the inspiration for your Abracadabra Mysteries?

A: Mary Stewart’s trilogy about Merlin was my inspiration. I found myself thinking what if there was a family of sorcerers who could trace their lineage back to this great mythical figure who exits in everyone’s psyche? And what if Merlin, somewhat in his dotage, were to show up in their magick shop in the present? I knew I’d have fun writing a cozy mystery series around that premise.

Q: You’ve described these books as “cozy mysteries.” For readers unfamiliar with this subgenre, what elements define the cozy label?

A: Agatha Christie’s mysteries gave birth to the cozies. Like her books, cozies have no overt sex or violence. The characters can fall in love, but they leave the reader at the bedroom door. People are murdered, but the grisly details are left to the reader’s imagination. Cozies often have funny elements as well.

Q: What are some of the challenges/joys inherent in penning a series versus a stand-alone novel?

A: With a series, I can keep working with the characters I created and love. In addition, the characters and their relationships can change and evolve as the series moves along. In my cozies, I always have a secondary story line that runs through all the books in the series. In Abracadabra that subplot is about Merlin.

The one big challenge for me in writing a series is keeping track of all the little details so that something in book 3 doesn’t contradict something in book 1.

Q: Describe your writing process. Do you outline or allow the plot to develop as you write?

A: I’ve tried to outline, but it’s too stiff a method for me. When I start writing a mystery, I know the victim, the killer and his motivation. However I did change killers near the end of one book and it made for a much better ending. I’m always a bit amazed by the way all the pieces fall into place by the end.

Q: Do your characters ever surprise you and make choices you hadn’t expected?

A: All the time. The other day my characters tried to run away with the plot. I caught them in time, but it wasn’t a pretty scene.

Q: How have your books come to be titled?

A: With the exception of my first book, the publishers have accepted my titles. My first cozy series was about a police sketch artist and the ghost of a federal marshal from the Arizona Territory. I used the word sketch in each title as in, Sketch Me If You Can. I find that if I choose the title first, it automatically suggests the plot. When I came up with Sketcher in the Rye, the plot popped right into my head.

Q: A witch, a vampire and a werewolf walk into a bar. No, seriously. If you had to have one of these paranormal beings as a roommate for a month, who would you choose and why?

A: I’d take the witch, but only if she’s into white magic and can wiggle her nose to clean the house.

Q: The protagonist of your Abracadabra novels has a long association with all things magical. If you could be granted any special power to assist in your workaday life, what would it be?

A: I’d take teleportation. It would save a lot on car maintenance and gas, and I wouldn’t have to pack for a trip. I could just teleport home for whatever I needed.

Q: The advent of self-publishing has made no shortage of creative avenues “magically” accessible to today’s writers. What, then, governed your own decision to pursue the traditional route?

A: I guess I’m an old fashioned girl. My first three books were published in the dark ages – before the internet. I know that self-publishing gives the author more freedom, but I don’t want the freedom to search for a good editor or a great cover artist or a marketing team. I prefer to spend my time writing. As it is, I’ll never have enough time to write all the stories in my head.

Q: What are you doing to promote your work and which strategies have been the most successful for you?

A: I promote my work on social media platforms and I have a website. I was one of the authors blogging on Killer Characters for a couple of years. I hold giveaways of my books and I’ve done some book fairs. I also like to cross promote with other cozy authors. It’s hard to determine what method has been the most successful, but I think book fairs have been the least.

Q: What is one question you hear too often in interviews? And a question that you wish someone would ask?

A: “Why did you start writing?” It’s part of every interview. One I’d like to be asked, “What other forms of writing have you tried?” A: I’ve written poetry all my life, but I’ve never tried to have it published. I wrote a stage play, because I needed to get the subject out of my head. It sits in my filing cabinet. I’ve written a few screenplays, the most recent of which I’m going to try to market. Years ago I tried my hand at an original sitcom and was thrilled to get a note back from Norman Lear saying it wasn’t right for them at the time, but to please send along anything else I write. I never pursued it, because selling to Hollywood without previous credits is as tough as it gets. But then I forgot my own advice and I wrote an episode for Star Trek: Next Generation. Hope is a great and awful thing. I found a west coast agent to represent me. She told me there was interest and then fell off the face of the earth – drug problem from what I heard. Writing for any ongoing series is just about impossible. They have show runners and a staff of writers from the get-go. Unfortunately the ideas in my head present themselves in many forms and refuse to learn what is and isn’t possible.

Q: If there’s one thing that no amount of wishing can make disappear with a wand or a secret spell, it’s a diagnosis of breast cancer—a challenge with which you—as a cancer survivor—are personally familiar. Tell us about your journey back to wellness and what inspired you to reach out and help other women not only survive but thrive.

A: I was very lucky with the breast cancer, but it was a realization that took me a little while to accept. I was forty-five at the time and thankfully it was caught at an early stage. I was fortunate to have a skilled and caring surgical oncologist, a wonderfully supportive husband, family and friends. But I didn’t know anyone who had ever gone through breast cancer, so there were times I felt very alone.

After recovering from surgery and reconstruction, I wanted to help other women who were recently diagnosed. I wanted to be their “someone” who’d gone through it. I became a Reach to Recovery volunteer for the American Cancer Society and went on to become the coordinator for the program in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island. When my surgeon asked me to start a similar program within his practice, I was happy to help out. With the help of two other volunteers, we created a nonprofit to provide information and peer support to his patients. When the organization hit its ten year mark and was running smoothly, I resigned to pursue my writing once again.

Q: If your favorite quote were put on a tee-shirt, what would it say and why does this quote resonate with you?

A: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been,” George Eliot. This quote reminds us that at any stage of life we have the ability to reach for goals. We only fail when we give up.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I’m writing the fifth book in the Abracadabra cozy mystery series.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?

A: Although my husband and I watch our kids’ dogs when they’re at work, it’s time for us to have another dog of our own. We’re thinking we’d like a golden retriever mix and have applications in with a couple of rescue groups. We’re trying to be patient and wait for someone who’ll be the right match for us.